Chain tightener



CHAIN TIGHTENER Filed April 13o 1921 Patented Apr. ll.,-

oscar. P. nULsE, or nunon, OREGON.

. CHAIN TIGHTENER. l

"Application ma April 1a, mi. ,serial No'. 480,94?.

T all whom t mayconcem:

- Be it known lthat I, OSCAR P. HULsn, citizen of the United States, residing at Dufur, inthe county of Wasco and State of Ore on, have inventedcertain newand useful mprovements in Chain Tighteners, of which the following is a specification. y rlhis invention relates to an 4improved chain tightener, being particularly desi for neg 1n tightening non-skid chains a out autoniobile tires orin tightening sprocketchains, drivel belts, and the like," and has as one of' its, principal objects to rovide a device of this' character w ich may be' readily operatedv for tightening a chain and may then be locked for holding the chain taut so that both hands of the operator may be used for connecting the ends of the chain,

The invention has as a further object' to provide a device employing a `lever which may be adjustabl swung for tightening the chain andmayt enbe locked in ad'usted position for maintaining thev desire sion upon the chain until the ends of the chain are connected,

- And the invention has as a still further 'object to providea device which will be simple units construction and which will be coinposed of Vfew and simple arts so that, in practical use, the device wi 'not be likely to get out of order. 1

@ther and' cidental objects will hereinafter.

- ln the drawing:

Figurel is a side elevation showing my improved device in connection with an ordinary tire chain, and

lili. ne 2 ,is a perspective view showing the `use o the device alor tightening a belt,

appear i V :in carrying the invention into edect, ll4

employ a lever 10 widened at its lower end portion and pivotally connected to the lever at its lower end is a dei 11 provided at ite outer end .with a hoo 12. Swinngly mounted upon the lever to coact -t the dog ll'is a semewhat longer dog 13, lying at the same side ci the lever with the former t dog and provided at ite outer end with a hook 1e. Ait its uper edge the dog 13 is provided with a rac 15. The dattened portion of the lever is provided with a series oi orenin s 16 and selectivel engageahle tii'ougi said openings is e bo t 17 pivotally fr; comico-ting 13 with 'the lever, the series openinge providing ineens whereby the dog may be adjustabl connected to the lever. Pivoted upon the lever above the innei; end of the dog 13 is a pawl 18 provided at its outer end 'with a substantially llshaped head 19 to coact with the rack 15. As willfbe perceived, the device is very simple 1n its construction, being possessed of but very few parte.l

In Figure 1 of the drawing, I have shown the `improved tightener in connection with one of the side members of an ordinary au tomobile non-skid chain, the side meinberbein itself in the form of a chain. As will beo served, the hook 12 of the dog 11 is engaged with one of the links near one end of the chain while the hook 14 of the dog 13 is engaged with one of the links ,near the other end of the chain.` rThis done, the lever 10- may then be swung, as will be readily *appreciated, for drawing the ends of the side member together and tightening the nonskid chain about the wheel tire when the pawl 18 lmay then be swung into position coacting with the rack 15 of the dog 18 for locking the lever against retrograde movementl and holding the chain tightened. Ac-

cordingly, both hands of the operator may then be used for connecting the ends of the chain. As will 4loe perceived, the fact that the lever -10 may be locked provides a very convenient feature of the present invention and is of great importance or practically iniperative where the device is to he used for tightening sprocket chains on machinery such, for instance, as a `threshing machine. ln an such instance, it is practically impossib e to accomplish the operation of connectingdhe ends of a sprocket chain with one hand. Accordingly, a device which does not embody a locking means of some description whereby the sprocket chain ma be held taut after being tightened, would e of no use. ln contrast, the vpresent invention rovides an adequate means for lookin the ever 10, after being swung, so that t e device will not only he well adapted or use in ti htening non-skid chains but will also be a a ted for tightening sprocket chains and rive belts. The hooks 12 andfle of the dogs 11 vand. 13 oi" thedevice are turned downwardly beneath said dogs so that when the deviene is used for tightening a sprocket chain no additio'nal clearance will be necessary to ae coinincdate the hooks. Furthermore, as will he noted, both ci the dogs and the pawi are mounted at the same eide oi the lever eo that `v nu'the pawl and the shorter dog will limit swinging movement of the longer dog in opposite directions to maintain the longer dog in operative position with respect to the 6 pawl extending at the rear of the lever.

-In Figure 2 ofthe drawings, I have shown the use of the device as a belt tightener, an

ordinary belt being conventionally illustrated at 20. Forl this purpose, companion 10 clamps are provided. .Each of said clamps comprises a pair of pivotally connected clamping bars 2l adapted to embrace the p belt and adjustably connecting said bars at their free ends is a clamping bolt 22. EX-

tending from each paii` ot' bars is a sling 23 carrying a ring 2-1. One of the clamps is,

of course, arranged near one end of the belt while the other of the clamps is arranged near the other end of the belt so` that the hooks 12 and 11i of the dogs 11 and 23 o the device` may be engaged through the rings 24 and the lever l() operated for drawing the ends of the belt together. The pawl 18 may then be moved to coact with the rack 15 of ,25 the dog 13 for locking the lever aginst retrograde movement, when both hands of the 'operator will be free for lacing the.belt. I accordingly provide a tightener of thoroughly ecient design and a device which, in

practical use, will prove highly advantageous for the purposes indicated.

Having thus described the invention, what 'is 'claimed as new is:

' In a chain tightener, the combination of a lever straight from end to end, rigid dogs .of unequal length pivoted at their inner 'ends to the lever in vertical spaced relation,

retrograde movement, .the dogs and said f pawl being free at their *outerv ends with respect to the lever for unrestricted` swinging movement but having their inner ends held Hat against the lever at thesame side thereof whereby the pawl and said dogs will limit each other in their swinging movement in opposite directions to prevent reversal thereof with respect to each other.

In testimony whereof, I aiiix my signature.

OSCAR P. HULsE. [L a] 

